At a glance.
- Cyberspace Solarium Commission issues annual report on implementation.
- US expected to issue Privacy Shield memo next week.
- FCC moves forward with proposed robo text regulation.
Cyberspace Solarium Commission reports on implementation.
The US Cyberspace Solarium Commission has issued its 2022 Annual Report on Implementation. Some 30% of the recommendations the Commission made in 2020 have been fully implemented, the report says. "The past two years have been witness to significant improvements in U.S. cybersecurity. Critical legislation has broken loose from long-standing jurisdictional conflicts to become law. Congress passed the Cyber Incident Reporting Act, which requires critical infrastructure companies to report cyberattacks and ransomware incidents. Lawmakers have increased funding for government cybersecurity efforts, particularly at the country’s primary cybersecurity agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the Department of Homeland Security, whose budget has grown by more than 25 percent, from $2 billion for FY20 appropriation1 to $2.59 billion for FY22 appropriation. Even more funding is expected in FY23. The White House now has a national cyber director (NCD) to lead the coordination of cybersecurity strategy and policy implementation across the government. The State Department has a bureau and a nominated ambassador charged with leading America’s international engagement on cyberspace challenges. And the executive branch has taken other important actions (based on new legislation), such as the establishment of the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative at CISA."
US Administration expected to release Privacy Shield memo next week.
POLITICO reports that the White House is expected to address longstanding transatlantic differences over personal data privacy with a Privacy Shield memorandum. The memo is expected to arrive next week. "The order is designed to address European concerns over surveillance practices in the United States and may be signed by President Joe Biden and then published as early as October 3," POLITICO writes. The US and the EU had negotiated revised Privacy Shield agreement in March, but details over US Government surveillance practices remained to be worked out. Next week's memo is expected to address those details.
FCC moves forward with proposed robo text regulation.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving forward with its plans to regulate robocalls. "In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), we propose to require mobile wireless providers to block illegal text messages, building on our ongoing work to stop illegal and unwanted robocalls. Specifically, we propose to require mobile wireless providers to block texts, at the network level, that purport to be from invalid, unallocated, or unused numbers, and numbers on a Do-Not-Originate (DNO) list." Public comment on the proposed rule is being solicited. Ars Technica reports that the proposed measure is intended to address the growing problem of scam texts that spoof their number of origin.